My New Year Wish

The end of December

The New Year draws near

What lies before us

In the 2008 year

The end of a war

I pray in my heart

A new leader to vote in

His reign then will start

The issues before us

Illegals and such

Must find a solution

America, can't be their crutch

Americans stand together

In this endeavor

What we do now

Will affect us forever

We still are united

I hear it in talk

We do it in whispers

Now, we must walk the walk

2008 must be the year

Stand by our convictions

We have nothing to fear

Americans, to learn Spanish

Should be simply by choice

It is they, to speak English

The language of our voice

Politically correct

I guess, I am not

I stand with the soldiers

For this land, who have fought

Americans are all colors

Red, yellow, black and white

They speak English, love this country

Fly our beloved Stars and Stripes

Health Care And Insurance

Today I am thinking about Doctors and Dentists. I read some stuff from the Boomer Chronicles and found , much to my surprise that there are lots of folks out there with no Dental Insurance. They spoke of broke teeth from soft breads and other dental catastrophes that required astronomical costing trips to the dentist for repairs. My thoughts go to a dentist, in the small town we lived in for over 20 years. I think his practice was rather new when we first started going to him, but this guy could teach some of these new fangled dentists a thing or two. His concern was not what our insurance would pay for , but what our dental needs were. He never forced any procedure on us, but was extremely thorough in his examinations and conveyed exactly what he thought we needed for our dental health. I always felt totally secure in his judgments. I can honestly say, he never hurt me....not once and this man not only did fillings , he did crowns, bridges and I even had him pull a tooth for me that I had , had a root canal done on years before we moved there from an incompetent guy that DID hurt and tortured me for hours. Most dentist today are more concerned with the cosmetic part of dentistry. They make you feel that you just don't measure up if your teeth are not perfectly straight and glowing white. Now, I care about my appearance as much as the next 50 something bleached blonde female, but the health of my teeth and gums are the reasons I visit the dentist. I am sad to say that since our move we have been unable to replace our beloved dentist and we have sifted through quite a few Doctors too that don't live up to the understanding and care we recieved from the Doctors in that same said town. Our search is ongoing and I do hope that maybe there is the same dedicated dentist and doctor out there in our area just waiting for us to call and make an appointment. I will keep trying in the quest for those same kind of professionals we were blessed to have for all our years in that small town.
That's my thoughts for now. Till next time.

Back To Normal

Things are getting back to some kind of normalcy. I spent yesterday de Christmasing the house. I get great joy in taking my house back over....all the decked halls and holiday tidings are once more in their resting place in the attic. When it comes time to put it all away, less is more....ya know, what I mean? I know, most people keep the cheer going until after New Years, Christmas trees still standing and lights still burning, but for me,the 26th of December brings an end to the actual holiday celebrations. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the festivities of New Years, but here of late I find it harder and harder to even be awake when the New Year comes in. We have never been big partiers, but we did use to at least stay up until the New Year rang in........Man, we are sooooo over the hill.
I ventured out for some errands yesterday also. I took back some shoes to Sears, I had bought for Wayne. I swear, that man's feet are almost sub human. They are just about as wide as they are long and get this, he is the only person I have ever seen with a left foot larger than his right, usually it's the other way around. I always have to get a wide and did so, in this pair, but for some reason they were still too tight. He is so persnickety and hard to buy for especially in shoes, but getting him in a store is like pulling teeth. He's gonna have to go if he wants new shoes tho.....I just got my money back yesterday and thought.....I'm not gonna make a dozen trips back and forth trying to find a shoe that fits......he ain't Cinderella. From there I went to the Bank, making a deposit I have been meaning to make for a week now. My last stop was at Brookshires. I had already cooked a pot of Red Beans and was going to put hamburger in them, which I didn't have.....uuuummmmm, I LOVE Red Beans. I put them on to cook, first thing yesterday.......I was really on top of my game...... don't ya think? I cooked them with onions and seasonings first, then add two cans of Rotel and browned hamburger. I did a real NO NO too and fried Wayne and I some potatoes. I don't fry anymore so it has been ages since we had home fried taters. Red Beans and fried taters......it just don't get any better than that. A real Texas treat. I would have loved to have had a big ole piece of corn bread, but I thought that took us over the top. Wayne had his beans over a bed of rice and I ate one slice of whole grain bread with mine. Some down home cooking after all the holiday stuffing and sweets was a welcomed change. Amongst the other things I mentioned, I also got two loads of clothes washed. I feel sooooo free today. I love the feeling of being caught up on everything.
I am looking forward to 2008 and my wish is for many great adventures and lots of time spent with the ones I love. I will say for now, till next time.

Our Christmas Schedule

FRIDAY!!!!!! AGAIN!!! This one is very important.......the one right before Christmas. I woke up this morning making a list in my head. The last minute things I need to get done and today's the day. Oh, I do still have tomorrow, I guess, but I hate waiting till the very last minute. Tonight we are suppose to go Christmas light looking......I LOVE to ride around first of all, and then getting to see beautiful lights draped on big gorgeous houses is just a bonus. The trip will be topped off with a stop at STARBUCKS.....UUUUMMMMMMM!!!! GOOOODD!! Tomorrow night is the HSE Christmas party......my BIG babysitting night. This is one of the huge draw backs of everyone working for the same Co. I will have all 4 of my grandson's. The two older ones will pose no problems, but the two 3 year olds will undoubtedly make up for it. I think things will be fine until it starts drawing near bed time.....nothings worse than 2 tired and grumpy 3 year olds. I will make it thru....no doubt, just think, last year I had 2, 2 year olds and OH MY GOSH!!! before that 2, 1 year olds. It's a wonder I am still here. Anyway, after tomorrow night it will be smooth sailing. Sunday morning is the start of our family day. First, we go out for breakfast. On our return, we will open presents. The rest of the day is going to be munching on delectable tidbits, playing games and just sitting around talking. I am looking so forward to Sunday. Monday we will be traveling to spend some time with Wayne's Mom and Dad and sister Jan. I am taking home made Lasagna, hot bread, green beans, and some kind of delicious dessert. Then, we have Christmas Day.....our plan for that day is.....WORK. Yep, we had to fit it in somewhere and it just so happened that Christmas day was the best time for it. We will miss Christmas with Wayne's other sister in Tyler, but the drive was just more than we could do this year. Sounds like a pretty tight schedule to me. I am looking forward to every moment of it, believe it or not, even Wayne and I spending Christmas day alone with one another.....after our chore, we will have time to recoup from the previous days and make ready for the rest of the work week. This may be the last entry on my blog till after Monday. I wish a Merry Christmas to all. Be safe, till next time.

Texas Weather

How great is this weather??? Wow! people, you that weren't lucky enough to be born or transplanted in Texas have no idea how wonderful the weather can be. We do dream of snow for Christmas and usually don't get any, but the beautiful sunny crisp days well make up for it. I always think that a white Christmas would be just perfect, not thinking of all the turmoil that comes with it. I dare say we Texans have no clue how to drive on ice or snow covered roads.....heck, from what I have experienced most are having a hard time with their driving skills on dry roads. I am one that craves sunshine.....dark gloomy days can get me down in a hurry. Trace was just telling me yesterday, that Texans are amongst the lowest numbers experiencing depression. I truly believe our weather has a big influence on that. The one big draw back on all this nice weather is NO SCHOOL or JOB CLOSINGS. I think we all need a break, a reprieve from the day in day out drudgery. I can remember sitting in front of the TV as a child waiting to hear if my school was gonna close due to bad weather. It always seemed like my school was the last one to call in to say they would be closed, so us kids still had to get up, get dressed and sit and wait. I am really gonna date myself, but I can remember the first time I could wear pants to school.....yes PANTS people. Little girls wore dresses and boys wore pants, now when the temperature went below freezing they would permit us little girls to wear pants, now get this....I didn't even own any pants, jeans or whatever so I had to put on a pair of my brothers. OH MY GOSH!!!!! I loved them! My little legs warm and covered and just the comfort that wearing pants had over a dress. I can't remember exactly what grade I was in....maybe the fourth, sometime in the early 60's....and I can't remember when exactly the dress code changed and girls were allowed to wear pants just like the boys, but I know it was a time of celebration for us girls. Gosh, how times have changed. Well, anyhow, I do love my Texas and all it's crazy weather, be it 80 degree temps in the winter or snow falling in the spring. You can always count on NOT being able to count on our forecast. It's any ones guess what the weather is gonna be from one day to the next. A great big ole Texas, Howdy and take care.....till next time.

A Christmas Vacation

Trace and I ventured out once more to try and find an end to this present buying......good grief!!! will it ever end. Ya know, Trace and I have talked for years about polling our monies spent on presents each year and traveling off to some exotic destination for Christmas.......wouldn't that be a blast! The only shopping that would need to be done is for the new clothes we might want to take. We have dreamed of a cabin in some snow covered mountain where we have nothing to do, but play games, sit by a roaring fire drinking hot chocolate and enjoying being together......or..... some warm tropical place just might fit our fancy. We could sit on a warm beach, watching the waves roll in and out......feel the warm tropical breeze on our faces and just lax out and enjoy the atmosphere.....WOW! that sounds soooo great! I wanna do it. To escape from this money generated, over the top, carnival that has become Christmas would suit me to a tee. I know that you don't have to buy into it and that it can remain as simple as you like.....but....geez, why not spend it somewhere that totally transforms it into a wonderful vacation. I do see it in our future....maybe not next year, but sometime in the near future......I can't wait! Till next time.

Once A Year Gathering

It seems just like yesterday I was blogging about seeing family that I only see usually once a year at our annual Christmas feast.....now, here it has come and gone again. There were certainly faces I missed seeing due to illness. There was a big void from the absence of my Uncle Bud and Aunt Billie. I wish them well and hope good health is restored. It's hard for my brain to wrap around the idea that I am getting closer to being amongst the oldest generation in our family. WOW! I sometimes still feel like the young generation, like me and my cousins should still be hanging out and talking and doing the things that we did in our youth.....boy, am I delusional???? I just can't seem to convince myself that, girl, you are getting to be an OLD LADY. I have been growing my hair out long....just one more time, I keep thinking. I ask Traci, just the other day.....do I look like an old hag with this long hair? She assures me that I do not, but the reflection in the mirror tells a different story. There are days that I think I can pull it off, but then, like the day I was in a fitting room in a store trying on clothes and I thought....GOOD GRIEF! I look HORRIBLE! I so want to blame it on the lighting and of course the carnival mirrors they use in those dressing rooms didn't help my situation either. I vote for candle light and NO mirrors, we can just go by how the clothes feel and not worry about how they look. Oh Well, at least I know that everyone of my age and generation are dealing with the same issues and I am not alone. I do have some solace in that. I am just glad to still be here and healthy enough to enjoy it. I hope that the new year brings health and happiness to us all and that next Christmas all absent this year will be able to attend our once a year gathering. Till next time.

Christmas Follies

I am up this morning blogging and it isn't even 7:30.......on a Saturday morning! I really wasn't ready to get up, but Baxter was having a nature call, so when I got up to let him out, I just stayed up. I have still been shopping, tho I thought I was almost thru on my second trip out. I never seem to be able to say....OK, THAT'S IT! I still have a couple of things to get and I am gonna HAVE to say DONE!

Trace and I watched several Christmas movies this week. Our all time favorite, It's A Wonderful Life. That one touches the heart like no other and makes a profound statement. I never tire of watching the old classics. Gone With The Wind is one of my all time favorite movies....I read the book too and enjoyed it, but the extra children seemed to take away some of the romance for me. I like Bonnie Blue being the only child. She was the one true thing in their mixed up relationship......the bond, they both loved so much. I am a sucker for a good Love Story.

I don't know what this day brings. Wayne and I are suppose to go to the movies. The new one with Will Smith in it came out yesterday......the one where he is the last man on earth. We are on our own today. Trace and family have left this morning traveling to her in laws. It is their tradition to go out in search of a tree the week before Christmas. I hope the weather is accommodating for them and they find the perfect tree. I don't know what Dan and his family are doing today......I'm sure playing catch up. With both of them working, they have a lot on their plate on the weekends to take care of.

I have one more thought before I go. Ya know, I said I was gonna try my hardest to have the Christmas spirit while out and about, saying hello, Merry Christmas and such.....well, yesterday posed quite the test. There were people out everywhere. I had cars pull out in front of me, ones that would not get out of the way and countless other brain dead acts that really got on my nerves and provoked horn blowing and yelling of words like, STUPID JACKASS!!!! I tried so hard and kept telling myself....keep the Christmas spirit, Sonia.....couldn't do it, lost it. Hopefully I have renewed myself and can start again the next trip out.

Be safe and take care. Till next time.

Scrooge

I'm disgruntled this morning,

No Christmas bliss;

What used to be fun,

Is somehow amiss;

The hustle, the bustle,

I'm now in the dumps;

Who cares about Santa,

and his reindeer chumps;

The pressure, the tension,

I want to scream;

Be glad when it's over,

This nightmarish dream;

I know we must think,

He's the reason for the season;

but, what I can see,

It's not he, that we're pleasin;

Why can't we just do,

What we all want to do;

To the rest, say BAH! HUMBUG!,

Won't do it, I'm through;

I know I'll get over,

This cranky ole state;

Today's view, is quite fleeting,

It's passing, I'll wait;

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays,

Who gives a crap;

The money we spend ,

All those presents to wrap;

All the time that it took,

Putting under the tree;

In seconds, it's over,

What a mess there will be;

Where is my spirit,

Where did it go;

I have always, loved Christmas,

But, this one thing, I know;

It's lost it's innocents,

The simplicity of youth;

We said Merry Christmas,

and said it in truth,

No, feelings of pressure,

Like those of today;

Just wonderment of Santa,

His reindeer and sleigh;

I want it back,

The excitement and joy;

I hate being grown up,

dealing with things, that annoy;

I want to be happy,

and have lots of fun;

I'll go back in time,

In my mind, till it's done;

I want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS!,

and say it with glee;

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,

Even Ebenezer and me.

Still Shopping

Yesterday, I did some private shopping......No Trace, with me. I have to have time to buy things that she doesn't know about. I started out early.....I was out and going down the road by 7:30 AM. My first stop was at Target's. I found some pretty good presents in there. It was wonderful walking around in a virtually empty store. Next, I went over to TJ Max, I saw a lot of cute things ,but walked out empty handed.......I started that, should I buy this, or should I not. In my argument with myself , I just decided to get out of that store and went to Old Navy. I picked up some more bargains in there and then I was off to Petco......No, I wasn't buying the dogs Christmas presents, but taking back a wireless fence we had bought for Gus. We want him to be able to roam the yard and limit his straying. We thought this thing was gonna be GREAT! It had such good potential, but something, be it all the trees or whatever, it wouldn't do right. The collar would shock when it wasn't suppose to and didn't when it was. I exchanged it for the in ground cable one. We are hoping for good results from it. Anyway, from there I went into the mall. I shopped almost all the stores, wore out and made my way back home. I am so happy that I almost have all my shopping done and did it in 2 outings. Now, comes the wrapping part....UGH!!!! I am always sooooo glad when that is over. I dread it so, but then love to look at all the colorful packages. I start getting anxious about this time and just want to give everyone their stuff. We use to have all our presents opened by at least a week before Christmas. I know, everyone thought we were crazy, but hey, it became tradition with us. Now, that my kids have kids they do their present opening when they want to......we are all pretty flexible on the rules and that there shouldn't be any. Anyhow, I better get up and get myself started on this wrapping thing. Till next time.

Foods And Our Health

We got a lot of running around done yesterday. We went to the Post Office, Denton Paper, Bank, Walmart.....again, and lastly Sprout's. Hey Doll, do ya'll have a Sprout's in Plano? It is really a great store to get home grown vegetables with no pesticides or any foreign stuff put on them ........finally, vegetables and fruits that taste like the ones I remember as a girl. Yesterday they had sweet yellow onions and an array of other things. This is the store that Trace gets all her organic stuff.....now, I haven't totally switched to all their products........couldn't afford to, but I do enjoy the fruits and vegetables I get there. I don't know why, we Americans put up with our vegetables and fruits having poison put on them and why we allow our meats to be filled with hormones and injected with red dye to make it look fresh when in reality, it isn't. Do we really think we are eating healthy when we are consuming all those additives. Sprout's even has a meat market.....fresh.....really fresh hamburger meat and some very delectable looking kabobs already for the grill, huge stuffed pork chops that can just be put in the oven for a quick and easy meal by throwing a few veggy's around them. I have found the prices on their meats to be very reasonable. I will also say that some of the brands they carry can be found at Wally's.....like Kashi and some others that are totally organic with no preservatives and such. The one thing I had to get use to was preparing what I bought there quicker than the things from the other
stores because without the preservatives things don't last FOREVER like what we are use to. Remember the potato cellar or having to keep things in the fridge to make them last longer.....well, that was good ole FRESH food. We have forgotten about fresh and how good it taste. We want to stock food like we are going to go into hibernation for a year or so......What's up with that????? I don't get it. I know, back in the 80's, I too was enamored with Sam's and loved the idea of going and buying enormous quantities of stuff, that first of all, I didn't have the room to store it all.....I mean, my house isn't set up like a grocery store and second of all, we tired of whatever food I had bought in abundance and usually it turned out to be a waste cause we didn't eat it, it was thrown away. I tired of that scenario very quickly......heck, just carrying in all that was like unloading a semi at a grocery store....who needs that? My sweet Aunt Jo is a die hard, go to the store every day, shopper and I guarantee her meals are as fresh as a meal from a major grocery store can be. She still lives by the old ways. Food should be consumed in a timely matter.....something that has sat on a shelf for months or even years should be tossed out....it was bad enough for us when we first bought it, I can just imagine what the months has done to break down all the foreign ingredients added to these to make us think they are still editable. I tell you, it is a conspiracy! If they can't get us to kill ourselves with their over medicating pills then they will just let us eat ourselves to death.....slowly, being poisoned with their additives. Why, we think our government is looking out for us on these matters is beyond me.....it all goes back to the old mighty dollar. If they can get more meat off of a cow that has been injected with hormones, then that's exactly what their gonna do......who cares what all those hormones do to us. I wonder, is there a study going on, on that?????, or are they still trying to find out what cow burbs do to the environment? We are the walking, talking guinea pigs of all these new money making techniques they have come up with.......no wonder we all suffer from some pretty strange things these days....aches and pains that seem to have no origin, women who cannot get pregnant, our lack of the ability to handle stress.....I think they may all have something in common........what we put in our mouths! Don't you find it ironic that with all the new ailments of today, magically there is a PILL to take for it. Tho, I have not cut out buying preservative loaded foods, I am trying to eat as many fresh foods as I can and I know that to really rid my diet of these poisons I would have to cut out going out to eat......I'm not ready to ban that as yet......but I do wish everyone from our grocers to our restaurants would demand FRESH foods, not tainted with pesticides or preservatives.....that would be the real way to help the American people stay healthier. Maybe, it is all these additives that other countries don't have that make them leaner and healthier than us. Think about it people. Till next time.

Girls Day Out

Yesterday was blissful.....Trace and I went out shopping, just us girls.....no kids....no men, YAHOO!!! We had the best time. We started out with a delicious lunch at On The Border, Mexican food.....my all time favorite. We then made our way to the Lewisville Mall, quite surprising, it wasn't crowded at all....imagine that? With only 3 more weekends till Christmas we were expecting LARGE crowds of people. I have to admit that I wound up buying more for myself, than presents for others, but I just couldn't resist some of the great bargains on some cute clothes I found. I have many gift ideas swimming around in my head....seems tho, when I get into a store my mind goes BLANK. We left the Mall and zipped back to Flower Mound to an absolutely wonderful Walmart they have just opened there.....we found the crowds of people.....who knew they were all shopping at Walmart? Oh, let me tell you, it is a Grand store, not like any Walmart I have ever been in. I was afraid that the prices were going to reflect the hoity toity atmosphere of this new giant, but as soon as we entered, I saw that yellow smiling head, with a price slashed underneath it and knew.....bargains were to be had. It was great! I can definitely see myself make the drive to shop there. Funny, but when we started our jaunt it was warm and muggy, so fittingly, I wore Capri's and a T shirt. On our way out of the Mall the wind had changed direction and was blowing MUCH cooler air. I was longing for my sweat shirt and jeans. The sun was still shining as we entered Wally's, but on our retreat it was dark and MUCH colder. Texas weather.......you never know what to wear. You can start off fine, like we did, but then in the span of just a couple of hours it's like you flew off to another country or something. Don't get me wrong, I love my Texas. I was lucky enough to be born and raised here, but I have always had a desire to be in a beautiful snow covered quaint little town for the holidays and somewhere tropical.....Hawaii would do, for the rest of the time. I can dream, can't I?

We have a long list of errands to do today......groceries to buy and a trip to the Post Office and so on and so on. I better get up and get things started. Till next time.

Hunter's Bistro

I want to tell you friends........make way for the new, upcoming, prize winning, chef. That 12 year old grandson of ours is a prodigy in the kitchen. He has an inborn talent with food. Wayne and I were caregivers of Traci's 3 yesterday. This was a late birthday present to RB.....the gift of time, ya know.......that's my specialty.......Anyway, I made a trip to the store and Hunt asked if I would buy some Avocados. He has had his own dip recipe stuck in his head for several weeks now. His prompting on this was home grown jalapenos from Dan's garden. I had told him...NO, but as always, I caved and not only bought the Avocados, but tomatoes and chilies as well. Let me tell you that boy took those ingredients added some of those superb peppers and with a few more dashes of secrets, made the BEST guacamole I have ever had.....bar none. He knows the right ingredients to put together to make a sumptuous taste. He has kneaded together some really wonderful breads, adding spices and cheeses to them, just like a pro. The best part is, that he has a real passion for cooking. To me, the idea of making money doing something you love is about the best thing in the world.......so many of us spend a lifetime working at something we absolutely hate and despise going to every day. Kudos to him.......I want to do nothing , but encourage him and be the first to congratulate him on the opening of HUNTER'S BISTRO.

I don't know what talents lay in wait from our other grand sons, but I know, they each have a uniqueness and when they find their passion and work towards it, they will be successful and have a happy work life. The possibilites are limitless, I have every confidence in each one......words from a doteting Granny. Till next time.

Families At Christmas

As I lay asleep in bed,

Dreams of Christmas,

Fill my head;

Who I'll see,

What gift to buy,

I love this day,

and I know why;

Together it brings us,

From near and far,

Our travels so distant,

Requires a car;

With packages and food,

The car is packed tight,

Start up the engine,

We're off on our flight;

Excited to see,

Faces seen once a year,

Tho, distance separates us,

We're family, that's clear;

Family's the best part,

gifts take second place,

The hugs and the kisses,

To each other, We race;

It is sad when it's over,

Back to our lives,

Till next year,

When it once more arrives.